A Matter of Health Newsletter

Healthy Recipe of the Month

Super Easy Winter Recipes

You open the front door after a long day at school or work and a cold drive home, and it hits you: the wonderful smell of a winter dinner wafting toward you, just as your body starts to feel the comfort of a warm house. The smell of a savory casserole baking in the oven, or a stew with herbs and spices simmering on the stove -- those are some of the best moments of winter. With all that in mind, I've put together a collection of easy winter recipes for delicious dinners.

Among these easy dinner recipes for winter are several casserole recipes. One recipe features pasta; another, beans; and a third, potatoes. You'll also find recipes for a tomato-based soup and a stove-top steak, in case you feel like having a nice, lean steak at a time when barbecuing outside is out of the question. And the best news? All are healthier than the standard versions of these comfort foods.

In winter, some produce items might not be available or affordable, but fear not. Frozen vegetables will generally work well in these winter recipes. And as far as fruits go, choose from pears, apples, avocados, cranberries, grapes, oranges, and kiwi to complement your winter dinner.

Chicken O'Brien Casserole

Just buy a rotisserie chicken at the supermarket, and you can easily have your three cups of shredded skinless, boneless chicken.

Ingredients:

2 pounds frozen O'Brien potatoes (about 8 cups), partially thawed

1 1/2 cups fat-free or light sour cream

1 cup chopped sweet onions or green onions (use the white and part of the green)

2 cups marinara sauce from a jar, such as basil and garlic marinara (divided use)

9 whole-wheat blend lasagna strips (about 9 ounces)

1 cup shredded, part-skim mozzarella cheese

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine ricotta cheese, 1 cup of the mozzarella, the Parmesan, egg substitute, sun-dried tomato pesto (or sun-dried tomato), and black pepper and set aside. In another medium bowl, combine the 1/2 cup of regular pesto with the milk or half-and-half. Stir in turkey or chicken breast and green onions.

Spread 1 cup of the marinara sauce on bottom of 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Arrange 3 uncooked lasagna noodle strips evenly on top of sauce. Spread another cup of marinara sauce over the noodles. Top with half the ricotta cheese mixture (you can use two small spoons to drop small spoonfuls over the top). Arrange 3 more uncooked lasagna noodle strips in the pan, and spread the turkey-pesto mixture evenly over the top.

Arrange last 3 uncooked lasagna noodle strips over the turkey-pesto mixture and spread the remaining ricotta cheese mixture over the top. Cover with foil; bake for 50 minutes.

Remove foil, sprinkle 1 cup of mozzarella cheese over the top and bake uncovered for 10-15 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

Cheeseburger Chili Pie

This is basically a higher-fiber, lower-fat rendition of the famous Betty Crocker Impossibly Easy Cheeseburger Pie. If you don't want to use beans in this recipe, delete them and increase the ground beef to 1 pound.

In a large, nonstick saucepan or stockpot, saute onion in olive oil over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Stir in garlic and continue to cook for another minute. Stir in marinara sauce, broth, pasta, parsley, basil, oregano, and beans.

Cover pot and let soup boil for about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to simmer, add pre-cooked meatballs. Cover pot and cook for 45 minutes, or until pasta is al dente.

Ladle soup into individual bowls. Garnish each with a scant tablespoon of shredded Parmesan cheese.

Brandied Pepper Stove-Top Steak

If you want to ignite the brandy over the steak, you'll need plenty of clearance above your stove -- the flame shoots up about 3 feet. If you don't have that kind of space, you can just skip that step.

Ingredients:

1 top round steak or London broil (about 1 1/2 pounds), free of visible fat, and about 1-inch thick

Meanwhile, in small, nonstick saucepan, melt butter, sage, thyme and rosemary over medium heat. Continue to heat and stir mixture until the butter is no longer foamy and has turned golden brown. Stir in fat-free half-and-half and set aside.

When steak has finished cooking, carefully pour the brandy over the steak. Turn off heat.

If you have plenty of clearance over your stove, complete the following step: While standing way back, ignite the brandy with a foot-long match. After about 5 seconds, the flames will die down. Remove the steak from the pan and place on a serving plate.

If you don't have enough clearance over your stove, just pour the brandy over the steak but don't ignite it.

Turn the heat back on to medium. Add the herb and fat-free half-and-half mixture to the saucepan in which the steak was seared, scraping up any bits sticking to the bottom of the pan. Simmer mixture for about 1 minute. Add any juices that have accumulated under the steak on the serving plate to the brandy cream sauce.

Source:

Elaine Magee, MPH, RD, is the "Recipe Doctor" for the WebMD Weight Loss Clinic and the author of numerous books on nutrition and health. Her opinions and conclusions are her own.

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